Best features of 2012: Hamilton didn't move for money

Best of 2012: As news of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes move broke, Edd Straw argued that for Hamilton himself, the choice was always about growing up, not chasing cash

Best features of 2012 revisited: On the morning news of Lewis Hamilton's team switch broke, Edd Straw argued that whatever the management's priorities were, for Hamilton himself this move was all about 'growing up and leaving home'...

Leaving home is a seminal moment in any young adult's life. That's exactly what Lewis Hamilton has done by turning his back on McLaren, under whose wing he has been since he was 13.

He's a 27-year-old multi-millionaire now, so he's hardly a callow youth walking out the door to carve his own niche in the world, but the increasingly dysfunctional dynamic that exists between Hamilton and McLaren is a result of a nurturing bond that needed to be broken, for the sake of both sides.